Star Attraction (17 page)

“I also play the role of Hamlet,
father.
 
It’s a pity you can’t come
to see us.
 
Zoe is my Ophelia,”
Brad added with a smile, and in spite of himself Cormac was moved.
 
They looked so happy together.

“How nice for you.
 
Just don’t make the mistake of sending
her to a nunnery.
 
Not that they’d
take her,” Cormac added sardonically, and then wished he hadn’t fallen into his
usual sarcastic way of cutting people down to size.

Brad sucked in his breath, and Zoe
turned hostile violet eyes on him.

“Yes, Mr. Clarke, I think it is
about time that we got down to business.
 
I don’t wish to seem ungrateful after the lovely meal you’ve given me,
but really, Brad has told you that you are wasting your time.
 
It was only with the greatest
difficulty that he persuaded me to agree to “The Dark Lady” being made into a
film at all.
 
Now that I have, and
have signed my contract with him, I have absolutely no intention of backing out
and selling the rights to you.”

“But what if I offered double,
triple, what Brad is giving you?” Cormac inquired in a hard, business-like
tone, while he admired the girl’s spirit as he observed her under veiled lids.

“It wouldn’t make the slightest
bit of difference.
 
I trust Brad,
whereas I don’t trust you.
 
I know
he will make the film with dignity and artistic integrity, and not turn it into
a Hollywood blockbuster.”

“May I point out that that's all
he has ever made before?
 
Pulp,
rubbish, trash, every picture.”

Brad bristled, but Zoe jumped to
his defense.
 
“And whose fault is
that?
 
You tell me you run Clarke
Studios, so
you
are the one who's to be blamed for commissioning the rubbish in the first
place!

“In any case, he now has the
financial success to get out from under your shadow and do what he really wants
to do, and his first great picture in a long line of many will be “The Dark
Lady.”
 
But then, that’s why you
resent him and me. Because you know he is independent now," Zaira accused
Cormac in a softer tone, and her violet gazed locked with his hard, flat one.

He gruffly said, “Nonsense,” but
even Brad could see that he was blustering.
 

Cormac tried to get the upper hand
once more. “You drive a hard bargain madam, so I shall offer you five times
whatever Brad is paying you, and under the exact same terms of the contract
that you signed with him, and him as director.”

Even Brad was shocked, and put a
hand on Zaira’s arm.
 
They both sat
in stunned silence for a moment. Then Brad urged gently, “Think about it, my
dear.
 
It is a great offer, and it
couldn’t change anything, except how much you’d get.”

Zaira shook her head. “No Brad,
under no circumstances would I accept your father’s offer.
 
I trust you. I don’t trust him or
Clarke Studios, who could sue me if I didn’t go along with their way of doing
things, and even you wouldn’t be able to protect me then.
 
No, if he’s willing to poach the
project right out from under your nose, then he’s not someone I’m willing to
work with.”

Brad’s pride shone in his eyes,
but he wanted what was best for her as well. “But the money, Zoe, think...”

Zaira’s patience snapped.
 
“When are you people going to realize
that I refuse to be bought?
 
Money
has its uses, but that’s as far as it goes.
 
It doesn’t make me happy, and what you offered me will be
fine.”

Cormac’s eyes gleamed, and Zaira
could sense his patronizing attitude.
 
She burst out heatedly, “Look, the only reason I wrote the damned book
in the first place or even considered your offer, was that my husband’s
business collapsed.”

 
She caught the brown eyes glittering at her, and she faced
Jonathan squarely.
 

“If it hadn’t been for me being
left abandoned and in dire straits, we wouldn’t be sitting around having this
conversation.
 
With the money Brad
will be giving me for the rights and fees, I will clear the last of my debts
and free myself of the past once and for all.
 
So don’t waste my time trying to convince me to get mixed up
with an even worse pack of vultures than I did the last time!” Zaira said
contemptuously, and the brown eyes shifted away from her.

Brad stared at her but said
nothing.

Finally Cormac broke the
silence.
 
“I’m sorry, my dear, I
didn’t mean to upset you, and I appreciate your honesty, even if it is terribly
unflattering to my ego to be referred to as a vulture. I hope you and Brad have
every success with the project, and I wish you well.
 
Now, if you don’t mind taking a turn around the dance floor
with Mr. Wyman, I have a couple of things I’d like to say privately to my son
before I leave for England.”

Zaira’s eyes widened, but Jonathan
was already standing with his hand held out. As she walked across the room she
could see every eye turn upon them.
 
True, in the old days, they had been a striking couple, and even though
Jonathan was deliberately trying to make himself older by dyeing his hair grey,
he was still a good looking man.
 
He put his arm possessively around her waist as they walked, and then
pulled her into a tight embrace once they were on the dance floor.
 

Zaira struggled, but he laughed
with wry amusement, and said, “I've had to sit there all night while that
bastard pawed you.
 
I’m your
husband, or was it a vulture, but in any case, just hold still and enjoy it.”

Zaira looked up at him and spat,
“That’s all I ever got to do when I was married to you, though the enjoyment
was certainly lacking.”

“You bitch,” he said in a
deceptively soft voice.
 
“Do you
want me to drag you out of here and prove you wrong?”

“Just because all your other women
never complained doesn’t mean I have to flatter your male ego as well.
 
I’m not going anywhere with you, so
don’t waste your time.
 
The only
thing that would give me pleasure from you is a divorce.
 
That’s the price of silence I’m
demanding,” Zaira stated boldly.

“But what about the price for
mine?
 
That's a great game you’re
playing, and I marvel at your acting skills.
 
Two separate women getting money from the project.
 
I like the accent.
 
You always were good at making fun of
mine with your usual New York snootiness.
 
The hair and eyes are pretty good as well, though your own auburn is
better.
 
So just what game are you
playing?” Jonathan demanded.

“I know you won’t believe it was
an innocent mistake, but it all came about playing Ophelia with a black
wig.
 
I told you, I didn’t trust
Clarke Studios, and when he met me as Zaira Darcy and told me he was planning
to film Zoe’s book, and would I consult as an academic, it was too good to pass
up.
 
I needed the money, as you
well know. “

“And which one is he in love with
then? Zaira or Zoe?
 
Or both?”

“Neither,” said Zaira, shaking her
head sadly.
 
“I’m sure he has
someone else back in LA, so he and I are just good friends.”

“Is that what you’d call it?”
Jonathan ground out, as he held her tighter.

“Look, Jonathan, I gave you the
best years of my life, and you threw me and our marriage away for the sake of
your greed and ambition.
 
If you
want to tell Brad about me, go ahead, but I’ll have a few things to tell him
myself, and damn the consequences to everyone,” Zaira threatened angrily.

She took a ragged breath, and went
on relentlessly, “I’m tired of all the games, the secretiveness in my
life.
 
I just want to be me from
now on, and as soon as the performance of
Hamlet
is over on Saturday, and the
screenplay finished, Zoe Dominick will cease to exist.
 
Brad will never forgive me anyway, so
it doesn’t matter.
 
But if the
project gets finished, then it will all be worth it, and Brad and I will never
see each other again.”

“Fair enough,” Jonathan replied,
but she could still see a predatory look in his eyes.
 
“I won’t contest any divorce you arrange, and I won’t tell
the Clarkes, for the moment anyway.”

“Not unless you want me to tell
Brad everything,” Zaira reminded him once more.

To her horror a deep voice behind
her said, “Tell me what, Zoe?”

Jonathan finally released her from
the intimate dance hold, and sneered, “Your turn with her now, old boy,” as he
walked off the dance floor.

Zaira couldn’t speak, and after a
few moments he gathered her into his arms and pressed his hips against her
until she blushed in confusion and embarrassment at his obvious desire.

“I don’t know what you two were scheming
there, but I don’t like it.
 
Stay
away from him, he’s bad news to women. You look so gorgeous tonight, every man
in this room would like to get his hands on you.
 
But you're my woman, so don’t you dare forget that!
 
No man is going to handle you like that
ever again, do you hear me!
 
Only
my hands, my lips will ever touch you again,” Brad whispered, now smiling at
her for the first time, though his eyes still glittered dangerously.
 

His mouth moved down to take hers
in an exhilarating kiss, and her fingers itched to caress his naked flesh once
more.

“You have no need to be jealous,”
Zaira said shakily as she pulled her mouth away and shivered with passion at
the suggestive remarks he had made.
 
She remembered their afternoon of lovemaking with a vividness which made
her blush.

 
“He was just asking me about the screenplay.
 
I suppose Zaira should have a contract
with the publishers as well, just to make everything legal and above board,” she
improvised.

Brad shifted his body away from
hers uneasily. “That’s true, I haven’t been looking after Zaira’s interests
very well.”

“I’ll arrange a meeting with Matt
then,” Zaira offered.

“No, I want to take care of this
personally.”

Zaira wondered why he had gone so
cold all of a sudden, and she tried to press up against him.
 
Finally he looked down at her, and
kissed her briefly.
 
“Come on,”
Brad said, “I don’t really feel like dancing.”

When they got back to the table,
Jonathan was nowhere in sight, and Cormac was sipping coffee but looking rather
irritated.
 
Zaira looked for some
sign of warmth from Brad, but it was evident he had other things on his
mind.
 
Perhaps seeing his father
had reminded him of the girl he had left behind back in California, and so she
decided to make a graceful exit before he felt obliged to offer to take her
home.

“Well, thank you so much for the
evening, Mr. Clarke.
 
I’m sorry to
have wasted your time, though I am of course flattered that you should be so
interested.”
 

She held out her hand in a
business-like manner, but he held it in his two large hands and stared down at
her with a look Zaira almost thought was kind.

“The pleasure has been all mine, I
assure you.
 
Not many people stand
up to me, least of all a chit like you.
 
Your friend Zaira warned me you couldn’t be bought, so you can send my
compliments to her, and apologies that I was such a beast this morning.” Cormac
smiled.

Brad offered to take her home, but
she could see it was only a token gesture, so she said smoothly,
  
“No, of course not, Brad, you
stay here and chat to your father, and I’ll see you at rehearsals
tomorrow.”
 

Zaira made what she hoped was a
dignified exit, though inside she felt as though she were dying.
 

All the way home in the taxi,
Zaira replayed the events of the day in her mind.
 
After such an incredible afternoon, when she’d felt as if
she meant something to him, and such a romantic dinner, suddenly, it had all
changed in a most depressing way.
 
Brad had become so distant, it was as if he’d already begun to regret
their love-making.
 
And yet he had
been so attentive at dinner, right in front of his father.
 
Zaira felt so wretched, she just wanted
to get into bed and cry herself to sleep.